


7 - A Jaebeom One Shot

by Jb2ndMom



Category: GOT7, got7 jb - Fandom
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Blind Date, Car Accidents, F/M, Forced Marriage, Marriage Contracts, Orphans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-06-01 17:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15148280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jb2ndMom/pseuds/Jb2ndMom
Summary: Im Jaebeom's parents think he needs to marry and settle down. He has different plans and regularly undermines all blind dates. Is this time going to be different?





	7 - A Jaebeom One Shot

Standing in the bathroom, looking at her reflection in the mirror, the young lady exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The face staring back at her was pretty by most standards, albeit not common for a Korean. This was to be expected though since her mom had been an American.

**~~~7~~~**

 

 

 

 

**~~~7~~~**

The eyes were her most striking feature, yet the one that cause her to stand out as a part foreigner the most. Her natural double eye lids over the almond shape, coupled with the golden brown irises, were more common among those who’d had surgery and wore contacts. It was a frequent occurrence for people to question both of those possibilities as first.

Anika's physique was also a point of interest to many. Standing at close to 5’10’’ without heels, with a tiny waist, and a rather well endowed chest, Anika was statuesque and someone many men coveted and an equal number of women hated without even taking the time to get to know her.

Today, the look she fixed on her face was one of fierce determination that, she hoped, would be seen as intimidating and unapproachable by the man she was to meet. Just briefly her lower lip quivered before she could fully regain her composure. She straightened her posture and willed herself to present with the aura of her namesake. The thought of this caused her eyes to spark a little and bolstered her resolve.

Before turning from the mirror, she straightened her dress, though it needed no adjustment since it hung perfectly on her frame. She sighed again and made to leave the restroom, when another young lady bolted into the room, dashing into the first unoccupied stall. Sounds of dry heaves emanated from the small chamber, the door having been flung open with no time to latch it for privacy.

Anika hesitated a moment. Privacy was important to Koreans. Most would act as though they were oblivious to the girl and the sounds of her obvious distress, but her American upbringing won out, so she cautiously asked, “Are you alright? Can I get you anything?”

A petite brunette emerged from the stall and shakily propped herself at the side of the sink. Her eyes were wild with fear and she seemed a bit out of it. After taking time to rinse her mouth and splash some water on her face, she turned and replied, “Sorry. Thanks for your concern. I’m just a little stressed. I’ve never done this before and I’m very nervous.”

Anika’s right eyebrow shot up with an unspoken but distinct query prompting the other girl to continue. The brunette’s willingness to speak to a stranger about her situation was probably a means of releasing her anxiety, so when she offered, “I’m here for a marriage meeting. The guy I’m supposed to meet had me intimidated as it was, and that was before the waitress’s comment.”

While offering this explanation, Anika was shown a photo of a strikingly handsome young man in his mid-twenties. There was a bad boy aura about him. He had several earrings in each ear, and wore makeup that darkened and enhanced his small but piercing eyes.

Anika could almost feel his stare boring through her façade, able to lay bare her deepest secrets. Above his left eye were two small moles, or possibly scars from an eyebrow piercing, she couldn’t be sure. Though he wasn’t smiling, she could tell his lips were full and soft. Upon initial look she couldn’t decide if he was cruel looking or merely trying to present as tough and unapproachable.

**~~~7~~~**

 

 

                                                     

**~~~7~~~**

As she looked back at herself in the mirror, Anika felt she and the young man could possibly be kindred spirits. Could he be soft on the inside but using his presentation to ward off those who would get too close like she was?

“What did the waitress say that made things worse?” Anika found herself asking before realizing the words were escaping her mouth and weren’t just relegated to her thoughts.

In a shaky voice the petite girl replied, “She said he’s been here five times in the past few months for marriage meetings and each time he’s left his dates in tears within minutes arrival.”

Now Anika knew she and this young man had a lot in common. It was her hope to cut her own marriage meeting short, though she doubted a guy would leave in tears. She almost giggled at the thought though. Instead, she extended her hand and introduced herself, “Han Anika.”

“Oh, you’re a foreigner? You sounded Korean. I’m Kim Hee Tae. I guess this whole marriage meeting stuff is strange to you, huh?”

“Actually, no. I’m here for that too. I just wish the guy I was meeting was more like the one you described. It would make it less complicated when I try to discourage him from wanting to meet again,” Anika offered, not quite sure why she was volunteering so much information. Usually she closely guarded her thoughts and motives, at least that’s how she’d become over the past six months since the loss of both her parents in a car crash and moving in with her grandparents.

Briefly, Anika reflected that had her parents been alive she would never be in this situation. They both believed in marriage for love. After all, they’d married for love. Her dad had attended high school in the States and went on to college there, which was where he'd met her mother.

After graduating, her dad had returned to Korea to complete his military commitment and immediately upon discharge, he returned to the States and the woman he loved. They married while they were both in graduate school.

Anika's father was a biomedical electrical engineer who designed and developed remote robotic surgical theaters, used in military settings and remote locations where surgeons couldn’t easily travel or would be in harm’s way. Her mother had gone on to get her PhD in History and was a professor at a university.

Anika had been born in the States and her parents had home educated her for the first 10 years of her life. Her first classrooms were those her mother taught in at the college, and she had been able to keep up with the university-aged students even at a young age given her background, prompting from her parents, and her love of reading and learning in general. She was raised bilingual, being fluent in both English and Korean, so when her parents decided to move to Korea as she entered middle school, she easily transitioned into the Korean school system, continuing to excel academically.

The move to Korea was prompted by her mother in the hope that her father and his parents would reconcile. Theirs was a strained relationship because he’d married an American. With the death of her grandparents on her mother’s side, Anika’s mother became acutely aware of the need for her husband to try and make amends with his own parents.

Unfortunately, more than twelve years later there had been no improvement or softening of Anika’s stubborn Korean grandparents. In a last ditch effort to push for reconciliation, her parents had driven to her grandparents’ six month before, only to be involved in a head on collision. Her dad had died immediately, and her mother’d sustained serious internal injuries. Twenty hours after the accident, Anika found herself an orphan, left in the care of her grandparents.

“Anika, respect your grandparents and I pray you find a love as true as your dad and I had,” had been her mother’s final words, leaving her in her current predicament.

Her grandparents were convinced that she needed to be married off to a decent Korean man, a task they found a challenge since many saw her half foreign status as a negative. In a compromise, they’d set her up today to meet with a man who was eight years her senior. He’d already completed his military commitment and was a pilot who flew international flights. Her grandparents reasoned that his exposure to foreigners would make him more accepting of some of her foreign quirks.

Kang Hyun Sik looked like a nice enough man in his photo. He purportedly spoke English quite well, and was looking to get married and start a family. Anika wanted to finish her studies at the University and work in the film industry. She was in no rush to start a family, especially with a stranger that she didn’t love. Her grandparents’ plans seemed to be at odds with those desires, much less the wishes her mom had for her to marry for love.

It took only a split second for these thoughts to fly through her mind, but Anika quickly turned to the younger lady and offered, “Hee Tae-ssi, stay here until you settle yourself. He’ll just have to wait. If he makes you cry, he’ll have to contend with me.”

Anika said this last bit with such conviction that the other’s courage was bolstered a bit. “Thanks. I really appreciate that. I should be able to get myself together in about 5 or 10 minutes. I doubt he’ll be here before then.”

Turning back to her own predicament, Anika bid the slightly younger lady goodbye with a head bob, and returned to the main restaurant area and found her table.

Sitting down, she reached for the book she had in her satchel. Pulling out the tomb, Anika opened it to where the photo of the man she was to meet was being used as a makeshift book mark. With little thought, she casually tossed the photo of the airline captain face down on the table and, with pen in hand, began reading the book for the third time through.

**~~~7~~~**

 

 

                                                                  

**~~~7~~~**

Just as she was ready to begin reading, Anika spotted a new arrival to the restaurant. It was the young man with the piercings, eye makeup, and killer glare. She’s seen him a moment before through the window, but the transformation as he entered the dining areas was a bit disquieting.

Outside, his steps had been light and almost carefree. His postured had been relaxed and his face had been calm and rather gentle. Once inside the restaurant, his jaw was set with a menacing thrust forward and his eyes had narrowed, giving off the impression of anger and intimidation. His body language was that of someone who wanted to be anywhere but here. She stared at him unashamedly, curiosity getting the better of her.

**~~~7~~~**

 

 

                                                                              

**~~~7~~~**

The man didn’t notice her at first, as he was conversing with the hostess who pointed out a nearby table, ostensibly the one where Kim Hee Tae was to be seated. Making his way across the room, the young man scanned the dining area and his eyes fell on Anika who returned his gaze without hesitation or fear. His steps hesitated briefly, then, as if on autopilot, his vector changed slightly and he proceeded in her direction.

Seeing him come in her direction, Anika cocked her head to one side slightly, gave a crooked partial smile, like she knew a secret, and returned to her book. Before long, he found himself standing in front of Anika’s table, where she willed herself to breath steadily and focus on the pages of her book.

The scraping sound of the chair caused Anika to look up and see the young man had seated himself at her table. The photo, though high quality, didn’t do him justice. He was even more stunning up close, and boy did he know it. He graced her with a smirk and leaned across the table keeping eye contact.

**~~~7~~~**

 

 

                                                                           

**~~~7~~~**

“Beautiful eye color. I thought they might be contacts, but they’re the real deal,” he offered, apparently not expecting a reply as he then reached out and pulled down her book to see the interior pages.

“So you take notes when you read too. How many times have you read ‘Atlas Shrugged’ then? By the looks of the different ink, I’d say this was at least the third time.”

He lounged back in the chair as if he owned the place, and when Anika gave him no response, he offered while extending his hand, “Im Jae Beom. What’re you called? Dagney?” to which he laughed at his joking reference to the book’s strong female protagonist.

“You have the wrong table,” Anika offered in a flat tone while inclining her head to the table where the waitress had originally signaled he sit.

“Really? I think I have the right table,” Jaebeom replied, as he picked up the discarded photo of the captain from the table and gave a snort.

“Why’d your parents set you up with this old man? It’s not like he’ll even be around half the time with his flight schedule.”

“How’d you know about his flight schedule?” Anika asked, mentally kicking herself for rising to the bait.

“I fly a lot too. I’ve seen him around. The difference is he flies as his job. I fly to my jobs. He’s old and boring. I’m not.”

“Humble too, aren’t you?” quipped Anika, earning herself a full blown laugh from the young man, which caused his eyes to morph into tiny crescent moon shapes and his whole face lit up in mirth.

“You got me there. Seriously though, why’d your parent set you up with someone dreary like him?” he pressed.

Jaebeom noted something flash quickly across the face of the girl in front of him. It was there one moment, and then gone almost immediately, leaving him troubled. Had it been anger, sadness, a combination of the two, or something else. He couldn’t be sure.

~~~7~~~

 

 

                                    

~~~7~~~

“My grandparents. My parents would have never made me do anything like this,” Anika offered.

As she spoke her words dripped with sadness and caused Jaebeom to feel a strange ache in the pit of his stomach. Her tone, coupled with the use of past tense told him that her parents were not longer alive, and it was probably a recent thing too.

Jaebeom shifted his body language to one that was more engaging. As he leaned across the table towards the girl, he softened his tone and asked in a voice that was like warm honey and could charm fairies, “Can I try this again. I’m Im Jaebeom. Required to be here for a marriage meeting to appease my parents. And you are….”

“Anika. Han Anika.”

“Interesting and quite beautiful. Three syllables. I’ve never heard that name before. I gather one of your parents was not Korean.” Both winced perceptively at Jaebeom’s unintended use of the word ‘was’ instead of ‘is.’

Jaebeom pressed on. “What kind of a name is that? Does it have a special meaning? Are you called anything for short? Ani sounds too much like no in Korean, and you don’t seem like a Nika.” His words were gentle and designed to tease a response out of the girl in front of him.

“Seven of Nine.They usually called me Seven, for short,” she replied. “My parents are, were, big Star Trek fans. She was a character in the series Voyager. As a young child she was assimilated by the Borg and given the designation Seven of Nine. Her birth name had been Anika Hansen."

Continuing, the girl exposed, "My parents thought it would be fun to use the name Anika because of our last name Han. Though usually they only called me Anika when we were in formal settings, I was being disciplined, or they were trying impress upon me something very important. The last time my mom spoke to me she called me Anika and told me to obey and respect my grandparents. That’s the only reason I’m here.”

Anika couldn’t understand why she was so at ease sharing such personal information with this total stranger, but oddly enough she felt this young man, Im Jaebeom, would understand and not judge her.

Jaebeom stretched out his legs and they brushed against Anika’s. Both started from the contact, but Jaebeom recovered quickly. Leaning forward, he offered, “Well if your date doesn’t work out, maybe…” He trailed off at that moment as Kim Hee Tae returned to her table.

Now that Hee Tae wasn’t about to vomit or pass out from the stress of meeting her possible future husband for the first time, it was easy for Anika to see that she was a classic Korean beauty. She was petite, with bright dark eyes, glossy brunette, almost black hair and a slender physique. She had a bright smile and high cheek bones and white straight teeth, Though she still looked a little nervous, it was easy to see that she was excited to see Im Jaebeom and hadn’t yet processed that he was sitting at Anika’s table.

“She’s waiting for you,” Anika prompted Jaebeom to shift to the other table.

Reluctantly, Jaebeom nodded to Anika, stood up, and walked over to the other female. Before Hee Tae could sit down, Anika saw her date graciously extend his hand and offer a greeting. His smile was bright and he looked far from being a person who was going to ditch his date and leave her crying. Turning back to her book, Anika suppressed the desire to sigh.

~~~7~~~

 

 

                                 

~~~7~~~

Just as Anika’s eyes returned to the forgotten book, she heard a man clear his throat and offer, “Han Anika? It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kang Hyun Sik.”

Captain Kang, bowed formally and asked if he could join her at the table. Anika nodded almost imperceptibly, but before the older man could take his seat, Jaebeom had approached offering his hand to the elder.

“Captain Kang. What a pleasant surprise to see you here. Mind if we join you,” continued Jaebeom, all but dragging a bewildered Kim Hee Tae with him.”

“Jaebeom-ssi?” replied Captain Kang taken aback by the situation, taking in the petite girl who seemed to be equally as confused by the turn of events.

Anika noted Jaebeom deftly maneuvered himself so that they were sitting side by side, his motion as swift and fluid as a dancer’s, leaving Kang Hyun Sik and Kim Hee Tae to be seated on the opposite side of the table next to one another.

Anika glanced over to meet Jaebeom’s eyes and caught him giving her a wink. She nearly burst out laughing, as he had to all but contort his face to show one eye was actually closed while the other was open. Seated side by side, Jaebeom would periodically brush his leg against Anika’s and occasionally his hand would graze hers.

Interestingly enough, the same type of covert skinship seemed to be playing out on the other side of the table as well, much to Anika’s delight. After the four shared a light meal together, Jaebeom asked for the check, and following a little haggled between the guys, the bill was settled.

Standing up, Jaebeom said to those across from him at the table, “It’s been a real pleasure. Maybe we can meet up again another time?” And with that, he grabbed Anika’s hand and walked out of the restaurant with her in tow, leaving the other two with their mouths agape and the waitresses giggling in the corner.

Outside, Jaebeom didn’t release his grip on Anika’s hand, until she pried it free. “Thanks,” she offered him along, with a bright smile. “I really appreciate how you extricated both of use from that situation. You’re a life saver. I’ll never forget you for doing that.”

With those words, Anika turned and hailed a passing cab. As she opened the cab door though, Jaebeom grabbed her forearm, and said, “Is that all the thanks I get?”

Pulling her towards him, Jaebeom’s lips came dangerously close to Anika’s and she could feel his breath being exchanged with her own. His free hand came up and his fingers entwined in her hair, as he gently but steadily pulled her closer.

As their lips met, Jaebeom was overcome by the sweetness of her taste and the softness of her lips. They stayed that way for a few seconds, with Anika not responding to the motion of Jaebeom’s lips against hers, but just before he pulled away, about to admit defeat, he detected an almost imperceptible response. Pulling back just slightly, Jaebeom looked pleadingly into Anika’s eyes.

 

 

**~~~7~~~**

****

**~~~7~~~**

Jaebeom's soft brown eyes bore into Anika's soul. They were anything but intimidating and hostile. He still was holding her forearm and she wrested from his grip. The look on his face was one a crushed defeat, as his eyebrows knitted together and a pained expression clouded the previously bright and happy face. With a quick twist of her hand, Anika shifted from having Jaebeom holding her wrist to holding his hand. With the movement of a panther, she stepped back into the open door of the cab and gently beckoned Jaebeom to join her, and the two disappeared into the darkened interior of the cab.

 


End file.
